


Sleep, Water, Exercise, Sunlight and Vitamin C…

by Zaniida



Series: MCU Oneshots [3]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: COVID-19 (Coronavirus), Concerns, F/M, Tony doesn't take the best care of himself, immune system, self-care
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-18
Updated: 2020-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:01:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23198275
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zaniida/pseuds/Zaniida
Summary: “—chronically stressed, chronically low on sleep, doesn’t watch his nutrition or hydration, drinks far too much alcohol to be healthy, can go for weeks without sunlight or any serious exercise—”“All right, all right!  Dinner and non-alcoholic drinks.  Exercise, some calming meditation, and proper rest.  I’ll do everything you ask of me, if you’re here to do it with me.”Pepper studied him.  “For the full six weeks?”
Relationships: Pepper Potts/Tony Stark
Series: MCU Oneshots [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1490792
Comments: 26
Kudos: 31





	Sleep, Water, Exercise, Sunlight and Vitamin C…

**Author's Note:**

> Quickly written, without too much rewriting and with no beta-reader pass, but I thought that getting it out there was more important than making it perfect. I was trying to think how COVID-19 would affect the MCU, and Tony jumped out as a guy with multiple risk factors for lowered immunities and, thus, complications. Good thing public gatherings are being shut down, or he'd get it for sure!
> 
> MCU fans, I hope this is a more memorable way to keep track of the factors that lower your immunities, and, thus, the factors you should focus on while trying to keep your immunities nice and healthy:
> 
>   * Get enough sleep
>   * Stay hydrated
>   * Get good nutrition (especially Vitamin C)
>   * Get some [sunlight](https://gumc.georgetown.edu/news-release/sunlight-offers-surprise-benefit-it-energizes-infection-fighting-t-cells/) (apparently it energizes your T cells)
>   * Get some exercise (boosts your immunities, lowers your stress, _and_ improves your mood!)
>   * Avoid excessive alcohol
>   * Keep your stress level low (yeah, I know that's the hard one right now)
> 


Tony had been arguing with JARVIS for about twenty minutes when Pepper finally stormed in.

“Pepper!” Tony cried. “What did you do to JARVIS? He won’t even let me in my lab! Says it’s some ‘Corona Protocol’, but that doesn’t make _any_ sense, because it seems like the best time for me to stay cooped up in my lab is when there’s a pandemic at large!”

“Tony, have you even eaten in the past forty-eight hours?”

“What, are you worried about my nutrition again? The lab’s stocked with dried fruit and nuts. Everything I need to keep me going when I’m working on a project.”

“Have you slept?”

“In the middle of a project? C’mon, Pepper, you know I can go four or five days without sleep when the mood strikes me. Just need enough energy drinks, and I’ve got plenty of those.”

“That’s the reason for the protocol,” Pepper said, taking his arm. “I am not letting you run yourself ragged when it’ll put you at this much risk.”

“What?” Tony protested. “I can’t _believe_ you! I’m doing my absolute best to stay away from other humans right now, and you sabotage my greatest pleasure because I’m low on sleep?”

“JARVIS, when’s the last time Tony drank anything that wasn’t alcoholic or an energy drink?”

“Six days ago, Miss Potts,” JARVIS replied.

“C’mon, Tony,” Pepper cajoled, dragging him away from the lab and toward the kitchen. “A good meal, some actual _water_ , a bit of exercise, and a good night’s rest. Is that too much to ask?”

“It might be,” Tony groused. “Anyway, why worry about it now? All the fundraisers have been canceled or moved online. Stark Industries sent home ninety percent of its workforce; Natasha and Wanda are holed up with Clint’s family, Scott and Peter are staying at their respective homes, and the rest of the team can’t even get sick, so there’s nobody around to infect me. This place is fully stocked with everything I might need, and I’ve got my own bar and entertainment center; I’m perfectly happy just staying here for the whole crisis. What more do you want?”

“Tony… you’re a first responder.”

“Huh?”

“If this crisis gets any worse—or if some other threat shows up right now—you’re going to be out there in the thick of it. And you might live in an environmental suit, but I know you: You’ll take your faceplate off at a moment’s notice. Or it might get damaged in a fight. As much as I’d like you to stay home and safe and isolated, it’s just not realistic, not for you.”

“Pepper…” Tony swallowed, noticing for the first time that Pepper seemed to be on the edge of crying. “Okay, so maybe I can’t avoid it, but… come on, it’s just a virus. Preys on the weak, the elderly. Probably just gonna feel like the flu for a while and then I’ll be over it.” He gave a weak smile and thumbed her cheek.

“‘Preys on the weak,’” Pepper echoed. “People with weak immune systems. Like, oh, I don’t know… how about a guy pushing fifty years old, who’s chronically stressed, chronically low on sleep, doesn’t watch his nutrition _or_ hydration, drinks far too much alcohol to be healthy, can go for _weeks_ without sunlight or any serious exercise—”

“—because my knees hurt,” Tony protested—

“—oh, and has a _gaping hole in his chest_ ,” she concluded.

Tony slumped. “All right,” he said finally. “All right, you win. But only if you join me.”

“Join you?”

“Dinner and non-alcoholic drinks. Exercise, some calming meditation, and proper rest. I’ll do everything you ask of me, if you’re here to do it with me.”

Pepper studied him. “For the full six weeks?”

Tony winced. “Six weeks is a long time, Pep. But sure, yeah, I can take it.”

“All right,” she allowed. “I think I can do everything I need to do online, for at least that long.”

Holding out his arms for a hug, Tony hesitated. “Is it safe to kiss you?”

“Well, if it’s not, you’re gonna catch it from me in the next six weeks anyway. So why not?”

Grinning softly, Tony pulled her into his arms and kissed the side of her head.

* * *

**Epilogue:**

_“So who all’s allowed up here, anyway?”_

_“Well, Thor’s not human, and we have yet to see him so much as get the sniffles. That super-soldier stuff made Steve and Bucky pretty much immune to anything we can throw at them. Bruce can get rid of a virus simply by hulking out, which he does—in a careful and controlled manner—in between every point of contagion, so he never brings anything with him. Oh, and Vision’s an android.”_

_“So that’s our gaming group, huh?”_

_“Yup. Want to join me in teaching Steve that board games have evolved a bit[beyond Monopoly](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkdHbmwXV04)? I’ve got [Pandemic](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0dDTbA1fq8), [Doctor Panic](https://youtu.be/ittbKrbU5c4?t=121), and [Too Many Bones](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr43RVRtv8s)!”_

**Author's Note:**

> I've been having a lot of trouble focusing these past couple of weeks, due to a combination of factors, many (though not all) related to the pandemic. But I've been trying to make progress on my fics (as well as helping out some friends with theirs). It's just slow going right now, and I can't do much about that.
> 
> Hope you all stay safe (and as calm as you can manage) during this trying time! I know it's easy to focus on the negatives, but I've been impressed at how creative people can get when they're not allowed to hold their normal meetings. Streaming sessions were pretty obvious (Planet Fitness has closed its doors for a while, but they're streaming a 20-minute workout every day on Facebook), but I didn't expect drive-in churches (come to church, stay in the car, listen to the service on the radio) or writing prompts (if you're gonna be shut in for a while, it's a great time to make headway on your writing!). Camp NaNoWriMo is debating about starting a week early or adding a bonus activity to the end of March here, and I've already seen this crisis used as one more way to [shove two people into a room together](https://fanlore.org/wiki/Bed_Sharing) (Jughead and Betty, as the case may be). We all have a chance to add to the creativity =^_^=
> 
> (She says, as her Muse sits in the corner and laughs at her, then goes back to staring listlessly at the wall. Sigh.)


End file.
